France’s powerful culture minister on Monday locked horns with the country’s Roman Catholic establishment on whether tourists should pay to enter Notre Dame cathedral when it reopens next month.

  • alcoholicorn@lemmy.mlEnglish
    12·
    13 days ago

    Remember when all the billionaires were pledging to fund the Notre Dame’s reconstruction, then didn’t?

    • Lodespawn@aussie.zoneEnglish
      13·
      13 days ago

      Billionaires aside, shouldn’t the Catholic church have funded the reconstruction given they are one of the wealthiest groups on the planet? Or better yet, their insurance company?

    • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
      7·
      13 days ago

      kagis

      It sounds like they did. Just took some months to get them set up.

      https://www.businessinsider.com/notre-dame-fire-one-year-reparations-billionaire-donations-progress-2020-3

      In the 72 hours after the fire, a clutch of wealthy French magnates clamored to pledge a total of 850 million euros, worth about $954 million at the time, to restore the cathedral.

      But it took six months for the first billionaires to put pen to paper and make good on their promises, with the intervening repairs funded by small donations.

      As the first anniversary of the fire approaches, the official charity for the cathedral has received all its major donations, while the coronavirus pandemic has delayed vital work to save the remaining structure from collapsing.